Patcharada Rattana (Prisha), our Bangkok MD, is passionate about building a working environment for MOHARA staff to thrive. She shares her personal views on managing the Employee Experience in an organisation.

In our line of business, we emphasise the User Experience (UX), but we also take the Employee Experience aspect of our organisation very seriously. How employees experience MOHARA and how their contributions are valued and recognised ensures that not only are we building a business, we’re building a legacy that makes us proud. So let’s give Prisha the floor.

Why is Employee Experience so important these days?

I believe the organisation’s vision aligns with employees’ goals and capabilities. If employees feel valued and acknowledged, they will most likely stay for the long term. As an employee, you have to enjoy getting up every morning to work; you have a purpose. So it’s essential to create a healthy and happy working environment. A happy employee contributes to the positive energy of the organisation.

When I interview a potential employee that I am not hiring to provide a job – it’s more than that. At MOHARA, we specifically aim to provide an environment that enriches our employees and enhances their working life experiences. Also, a healthy working environment ensures that employees are more likely to pull together when challenges arise.

Your thoughts on building a healthy working environment and how it relates to creating an excellent employee experience?

I enjoy creating a high energy and positive working environment. So that, when we encounter challenges, the positive energy that we have will help us through the tough times. So we always try our utmost to keep the energy in our office. Good communication amongst staff is also critical. When we can communicate well with each other, we can be open and honest with each other – so if you’re not feeling very well on a particular day, you can feel comfortable enough to let your colleagues know. We are very open to sharing our feelings, which helps increase productivity in our office. No one should be afraid to open up.

More so, in the realm of sharing our feelings and opinions in a kind and constructive way, we do not have hierarchies. On the contrary, everyone’s voice matters no matter their role, which helps create a happy and healthy working environment.

Let’s delve into hierarchical structures and their impact on an organisation’s overall environment.

Everyone at MOHARA has a voice – and each voice matters, whether you’re on the leadership team, an engineer or a non-technical staff member. When everyone at an organisation feels valued and acknowledged they are more likely to have a pleasant employee experience. A healthy environment is created when employees are free to express themselves in a safe and supportive environment.

In regards to support, we have a counselling program for each of our employees, no matter their position in the organisation. Each employee has a counsellor to guide and support them on their career path. When we emphasise what truly matters to our employees, such as their career aspirations, not only what they contribute to the success of the organisation, we build trust and this too creates an environment in which employees can thrive.

There’s a significant shift towards work-life balance and mental wellness; how important is it?

When you’re working, you need to monitor your mental health. Your mental health should always be a top priority. To improve an organisation’s employee engagement and experience, in this regard, you should start by focussing on the organisation’s core values. You then should dig deep to understand how your employees feel about you as an organisation. At MOHARA, we send out regular surveys to our employees so that if a problem arises, we can find solutions to monitor or prohibit the problem from recurring or progressing. We need to create a safe environment for our employees so that they will feel comfortable enough to share their actual concerns – concerns that we can help alleviate or prevent.

To ensure that our employees feel comfortable sharing their concerns, we provide that our surveys are anonymous. So absolutely no one in the organisation has an inkling of who has said what – not even the person sending out the survey has a clue. That’s how much we value our employee’s contribution to the success of our organisation.

MOHARA has a global footprint; how does it play into creating a happy and healthy working environment?

At MOHARA, we celebrate our differences: we come from different backgrounds. So diversity is part of our identity. We can come up with great ideas, taking inspiration from different perspectives. We enjoy learning from each other.‍

In closing, do you have advice for anyone looking to find a working environment where they can thrive?

Always ensure that your values match the organisation’s values. And, if you can find an organisation that places great significance on the growth of their employees, that’s a good indication of a healthy working environment.

The next time you work in an office, take a look at the smiling faces and try to pinpoint the reasons for the positive outlook that the employees have in that particular environment. We’ll be showcasing many more articles about MOHARA staff and the various activities and projects we are orchestrating. It’s all part of building solid relationships within the organisation whilst remaining focused on our core values and driven to lead ourselves purposefully.